Habitat chapter on schedule to build 100th house

St. Joseph County's Habitat builds relationships with every nail

St. Joseph County's Habitat builds relationships with every nail

June 08, 2006|JOSEPH DITS Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- It wouldn't seem too out of place if TV comedian Larry the Cable Guy walked up to this job site. "Git 'er done," he'd say, his trademark line. And it would fit in as tradesmen press power drills and drywall brushes this week to the 99th and 100th houses that Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County is building. The two little houses on Dunham Street rise faster than Habitat usually raises them. Faster because there aren't the swarms of unskilled volunteers that usually adorn a Habitat blitz, finishing in a week. Jesus and Lorena Delgado, owners of house No. 100, were itching to use their newfound skills in cutting lumber, siding, drywall and roofing tiles -- stuff they learned in Habitat's Cornerstone class to prepare for home ownership. "We want to but we're scared to ask because they're so professional," says Lorena Delgado of the workers. "By the time we want to jump in, they're done." So the couple -- Jesus is 22, Lorena is 20 -- clean, fetch water and practice tacking up vinyl siding. Jesus Delgado wears a T-shirt that he had signed by the guys who nailed in the house frame on Saturday. "My heroes," he says. On the fast track Home Builders Association members are knocking out about 400 Habitat homes across the country this week, including these two houses. The build goes "dramatically" faster when the workers are all tradesmen, says Habitat construction manager Brian Linson, enjoying his key duty: staying out of the way. He watched Saturday as roofers tacked up one roof in three hours. But there's a feeling, he says, that comes when a gaggle of everyday folk cooperate on a foreign task like putting up small sections of siding. There's typically a skilled worker who stays with and guides them. Maybe it's not efficient. But Linson says, "At the end of the day, you say, 'Man, we did that.' " Linson, a retired Mishawaka firefighter, counts this as the 88th Habitat house he's worked on, including abodes in Indianapolis and Anderson, Ind., and Arizona. The Habitat reaction Of course, these bonds and feelings help keep the funds and volunteers coming. Charities know that people tend to give to something they've experienced, something that is real to them. Mike Everett, a board member of Home Builders Association of St. Joseph Valley, is experiencing it for the first time. He has helped with Rebuilding Together (formerly Christmas in April) and with Toys for Tots, but he's amazed at how quickly folks pitch in for Habitat. "When you mention Habitat, wallets open up," Everett says. He got a rush seeing how fast the utility companies hooked up the house -- faster than he is used to when his company, Rosemark Homes, erects a house. David Hatch, the local Habitat director, knows it isn't just magic. In fact, Habitat often has scrambled to find funds and volunteers for a house up through its construction time. 'The core of what we do' While a skilled crew makes the job easier, he says, "It's not something we want to do all the time." The sweat and toil of a new homeowner working side by side with volunteers, he says, is "the core of what we do." A bank vice president was at house No. 100 this week, working with the Delgados. Hatch says opportunities like this are "more powerful than getting a house," and help the owner to say, "I'm not in this struggle alone." Hatch thinks of a homeowner who was paining over a personal setback when she looked upon the walls of the Habitat house in which she was living. She thought of the caring hands that built them and found solace. Larry Kulczar, who owns Kulczar Plumbing, has helped with local Habitat houses since the first was built 16 years ago. He's lost track of how many houses he has done. "It's been fun," he says, "especially if you go to the house closing and see the tears in the eyes of the people involved in it." Staff writer Joseph Dits: jdits@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6158